


Convalesce

by PastelMiu



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Both relationships get equal attention, Changing POV, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Multiple Protagonists, Post-Game, alcohol mention, sad gay hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 19:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16143497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelMiu/pseuds/PastelMiu
Summary: “Are you happy, Miu?” He paused, giving time for the taller girl to answer, but she instead looked at him curiously.“I’m not. Is that selfish? I’ve gotten so much yet I’m not happy.”(Post game One shot. Focused on Miu and Kokichi)





	Convalesce

It was weird seeing people from the game again, no matter how many times she saw them. She knew they were mostly in the area, all living in the accomodations provided by Team Danganronpa. Compensation for participating in the game was somewhere to live afterwards, after they had ruined all their personal relationships by taking part and having their memories wiped.

But Miu had never expected to come face to face with Kaede after running into her on a random street.

“Watch where-“

“Kaede?”

The two looked at eachover for a moment before the other girl relaxed, Miu noting that she seemed a little more agressive than in the game. After leaving the simulator their real personalities came back, but they weren’t much different than in game. The claims were false about being able to change personalities completely when they went into the simulation. But they were changed slightly. Miu herself was slightly meeker now, a fact that she disliked. 

“Miu? I haven’t seen you since you left the hospital! You left without telling anyone.”

“Well, I had shit to do didn’t I? The gorgeous girl genius doesn’t wait for anyone to say goodbye!” She laughed in a poor attempt to disguise the real reason she had left without warning, fear of interacting with the others, the ones who hadn’t woke up yet. She didn’t want the people who were awake to know where she was either.

Kaede looked skeptical, but smiled at Miu, friendly and cheerful, just like in the simulation. “We should catch up! I’m trying to keep in contact with everyone from the simulation. I can give you my number, and the others if you want.”

The other girl near snatched the phone out of her hands when Miu held it out to her to put the number in, before giving it back to the former inventor. 

“Call sometime, okay Miu?” Her voice sounded like she doubted whether Miu would actually get in touch, but she straightened her back and grinned at her.

“I wish I could talk to your more now, but I’m on my way to work.” Kaede started to walk away, waving as she went. “See you Miu!”

“Bye Kaeidiot.”

Miu stared at the contacts open in her phone for a moment, before she jumped at hearing her phone ring suddenly.

She grumbled slightly, lifting the phone to her ear. “What the fuck does he-“

“Hey loser.” 

“What the hell do you want? It’s too early to talk to your ugly ass.”

-

The first few months had been hell, he’d woken up in a daze, not even knowing what was true about himself anymore.

Everything fake, even his own personality and life. Dice wasn’t real, the killing game wasn’t real. He had even less than he’d had in the simulation.

The first few months he spent near silent, people woke up slowly, but somehow it seemed the people who had been through the most in death were the first few to wake.

And it was so entertaining to sit in a room in silence with the mastermind and people whose deaths you’d caused! Kokichi really enjoyed that. Not.

He didn’t have much choice about staying their though. For the first month a nurse had to wheel him around in a wheel chair, which he loathed. His legs wouldn’t move and he had to deal with phantom pains constantly.

Team DR insisted they were ‘oh so sorry’ about the ‘tiny errors’ in the simulation that caused some of the ‘contestants’ to have injuries in the real world. As if. He was sure they knew that this would happen to some of them.

The second month he managed to get onto crutches, and refused to use his wheelchair any longer than he had to. Crutches weren’t ideal, but they were better than a wheelchair.

On the fifth month of being in the hospital, he did the main thing he had been avoiding and went to visit Shuichi. The second he stepped into the hospital room, one late night when the doctors weren’t paying any attention and the security was low, he saw Kaede standing there and left.

“Kokichi!”

Realising he’d been seen, he turned around and looked back into the room, folding his arms behind his head and smiling.

“Oh, Kaede? Here to see your dead boyfriend?” Maybe he was jealous, maybe he was being a bit mean. He didn’t really care anymore.

“Funny. He’s not my boyfriend though, and I don’t think he’s dead.” The yet was unsaid, but Kokichi could see it on her face.

“Hm. Just sleeping, huh?” He moved to stand next to the taller girl, hovering over the bed where Shuichi was still plugged into machines that kept him alive in his comatose state. None of the survivors had woken up yet. He wasn’t sure whether that was just how the simulation worked, or whether Team DR wanted them to stay quiet. 

On the seventh month of being stuck in the hospital while he recovered, he heard a yell of “Himiko!” from the next room, then hysteric laughter and tears that were clearly from the three girls. Jealousy flared through him, and he knew he had to get out of the hospital soon. 

He curled further into his bed in the cold sterile room, and stared at the wall until he fell asleep, dreaming of the simulation again.

-

The first person who had gotten in touch with her after she left had been a complete shock. But somehow it wasn’t hard to talk to Kokichi. It was easy to fall into old patterns and chatter, like nothing in the simulation had ever gone wrong.

“Are you happy Miu?”

The voice rang down her phone a few weeks after she had met Kaede again, and she winced hearing the sarcastic drawl.

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I fucking be?”

“Oh I don’t have any idea about that! I’m perfectly happy living only talking to you and having nothing else to do all day.”

She could nearly hear him rolling his eyes, as he continued speaking.

“She’s handing you a rope, ring Kaede back dumbass.”

He hung up the phone with a dull beep ringing in her ear, and the next day she found herself sitting next to Kaede Akamatsu in her apartment.

It was clean, tidy. It suited her and was exactly what Miu had expected, and nothing like herself. Her own place was a mess, and she hadn’t bothered to make it look nice, not decorating other than the basic furniture that had been provided by Team Danganronpa. 

Kaede’s rooms were all cozy, soft pillows and pretty decorations everywhere. On any other day she would have liked it, but at that moment it only served to make her compare it to herself and clutch her drink tighter in her hands.

“I’m glad you called! I was starting to think you never would.” The girl next to her smiled, facing her, and Miu averted her eyes.

“Yeah, well. I was busy, y’know.” 

“Busy.” Kaede echoed, hearing Miu lie. “You don’t have to make stuff up Miu, I can tell you’re living off the prize money still. It’s okay to be honest with yourself.”

“But you’re-“ 

“I’m working at a clothes shop, Miu. It’s nothing impressive. I’m just living a normal life because it’s all I’ve got.”

“But I’m not even doing that,” Miu looked down at her lap, playing with the cup she was holding. “I barely leave my house and you’re getting in touch with everyone in the game who’s awake.”

“It’s okay to not be doing anything after what we all went through, well that’s what I think!” The former pianist smiled at her, though it didn’t look as bright as it normally did. “And-, I sort of wasn’t telling the truth about that.”

“What?”

“I only really asked you to keep in touch. There’s people I don’t want to see aswell.” 

“You-“ 

“Don’t you see Miu? I’m not that great. I can’t even play the piano anymore. I only gave you my number for selfish reasons.”

“I don’t fucking get what you’re saying. I mean - what reasons would you have other than being nice?”

Kaede sighed, looking slightly flustered. “Well...”

-

“He asked about you, you fucking idiot.”

“Wow Miu, I have no idea who you’re talking about!”

“Stop acting dense, he’s been awake for a fucking month.”

Kokichi Ouma did not avoid his problems. It wasn’t as if he had messages on the phone saying “call when you can”, it’s not like Kaede’s been bugging him to visit for weeks now.

“Oh! Maybe you should stop bothering me and take a fucking hint then!”

He hung up the phone, feeling slightly guilty. His therapist would call that a good thing, but he didn’t like that he wasn’t as in control of his emotions anymore.

He heard his phone ping again, and looked down at it. Seeing another text.

‘Kaede said Miu called you. I just want to talk to you.’

He still felt guilty. It wasn’t a good feeling. He should at least reply.

‘Then tell Kaede that her girlfriend should leave me alone.’

‘You replied?’ He could almost hear the shock in his voice over the text, but he tried not to think about that too much.

‘I do just want to see how you are Kokichi. Miu said you weren’t doing well.’

Of course she did. 

“Fuck.”

He looked at the cracked screen for a second before going to the small ring button, he was always too lazy to get it fixed.

The other picked up straight away, as if he had been waiting for a reply.

“Hello? Kokichi!”

“I’m doing fine. I don’t see why everyone is so worried.”

“Kokichi-“ Shuichi took a breath in, as if preparing himself for what he was going to say. “You rarely talk to any of us, and Kaede said that you’re avoiding seeing me-“

“I’m not.”

“You are- Kokichi please be serious.”

“So you won’t leave me alone?”

“No.”

The talked on the phone on and off for the next week, chattering meaninglessly sometimes, othertimes talking about people from the game.

He sat in a cafe on the next week, sipping an overly sweet drink that Shuichi had insisted on paying for. Kokichi could tell he felt guilty over the amount of money he had ‘won’ from the game. Not that he was much worse off, he was a ‘runner up’ and Team DR had referred to him.

“Why’re you here then, Shu-i-chi?” He broke up the others name, grinning playfully as he spoke.

“What do you mean?” Shuichi looked at him, puzzled. “I invited you here.”

“Well obviously.” He took a sip of his drink, it was freezing cold despite it being winter. “I mean why don’t you go hang out with Kaede or Kaito and Maki. You know, your actual friends.”

Shuichi sighed, looked to the side, and with an annoyed expression. “I don’t get why you’re so determined to say that we’re not friends. I think we are at least.

“Changing your mind pretty quickly huh? I thought I was forever alone and all that.”

Shuichi clutched at his clothes, clearly getting upset and frustrated. “Y-you can’t blame me for things I said in the simulation! And I don’t blame you for anything you did in the game either.”

“Well you didn’t die! You didn’t kill anyone, Shuichi!” Kokichi raised his voice, angry and upset.

Looking back at Shuichi, he looked nervous as well as upset now, and it was then that Kokichi noticed that people were staring. He grabbed the former detectives hand and walked out of the cafe with him.

He really didn’t like this newfound empathy that he couldn’t hide like his other feelings, it felt like he was losing control. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Shuichi looked shocked for a moment, looking at him. Kokichi squeezed the hand he was holding, beginning to fluster now that he was out of there and realised that he was actually holding Shuichi’s hand.

“I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you.”

He tried to let go of his hand and leave, but then Shuichi squeezed back, smiling at him.

“You seem like you’ve changed a lot since the simulation, Kokichi. It’s nice to see that you’re getting better after everything.”

He hummed in response and then chattered as they walked away from the cafe, he really wanted to see that smile again.

-

“Did he go, Miu?”

“Yeah, only cause’ I kicked their sorry asses to go do it though.”

“Yeah! Well that’s good.”

Kaede moved to sit next to her in the cozy apartment, getting under the blanket that Miu had hogged by herself.

“Hey- Kaeidiot, you’re cold!”

“Well it is winter, what do you expect if you keep the blankets to yourself?” The other girl curled up against her, giggling and holding her cold arms around Miu.

“Wanna’ watch a movie or some shit?” Miu reached for the remote, switching the tv on and putting an arm around Kaede in return.

“There should be christmas ones on around now right? It is December after all.”

Miu hummed as an answer, watching as the screen flickered on to show the news channel.

“Ah-“ She dropped the remote onto the blanket, sitting back into the cushions as she looked at the tv.

“What’s wrong?” Kaede looked back and her eyes widened slightly. “O-oh. I’d forgotten it was a year soon. So it’s today huh?”

“Yeah.” Kaede reached over to switch off the television, looking at how pale Miu had grown. “It’s okay Miu. Nothing can hurt you now, you have me here with you right?”

She nodded, wrapping her arms back around Kaede and laying her head on her, but not speaking. 

Kaede stretched her arms around the other girl, stroking her hair and holding her closer as she felt her shirt grow wet where Miu had buried her face into.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared. I love you, I care about you so much.” She continued stroking her hands through the other girl’s hair as she cried. Kaede feeling herself beginning to cry too.

“We’re okay now aren’t we? I love you so much.” 

Miu lied back on the seat, taking Kaede with her as she did so they were both lieing down under the blanket.

“Y-yeah.” She wiped her red eyes, taking a breath now that she had stopped crying. “I love you too.”

“It’s been a month since I moved in here right?”

Kaede nodded. “I’m glad you did, you make my days a lot better.” She kissed the other girls forehead and curled back up with Miu under the warm blanket, slowly drifting away into sleep.

-

Makeup was irritating, Kokichi decided, Miu had put some on him before they left to a New Year’s Eve celebration. But at least he looked nice, not that he was trying to impress anyone.

It had been a while since he had seen Miu or Kaede in person, the last time was probably just before Shuichi had woken up. They both seemed different, happier somehow. They were good for eachover.

He supposed he could admit he cared about them - to himself at least.

The festival they were at was full of glowing lights, warm colours filling the area as people celebrated. Looking up he saw lanterns floating away in the sky, and he watched one move peacefully in the wind.

The winter air was cold, the opposite of the warm and joyous atmosphere of the festival. Though he was distracted when he noticed Shuichi wasn’t beside him, and he looked around to find him in a slightly clearer area, sitting down. 

“Are you okay, Shu?” Kokichi wandered over to him, taking a seat besides him. 

“Where did Shu come from?” The other boy laughed slightly, but nodded. “I’m okay, I just wanted to get out of the crowds for a bit.”

“Okay! You’ve got me to keep you company then.” Kokichi giggled, swinging his legs as he sat on the bench next to the other boy. He heard a yell of one minute from the distance.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get back to Miu and Kaede in time for the fireworks though! However will I deal with not seeing them being a disgusting couple and making out in public?” He spoke in mock horror, Shuichi giggling beside him. It was cute.

“Be nice, won’t all of the couples be doing that anyway?”

“Ten!” He heard an announcer yell in the distance as people began counting down, he stood up pulling Shuichi off of the chair.

“Five!”

“Oh no! I’ll be cursed because I don’t have anyone to kiss at midnight! My next year will be terrible...” Kokichi fake sobbed as the countdown continued, now standing up with Shuichi. Was he taller than in the simulation or was he imagining it?”

“Two!”

“I don’t think that’s how it w-“

“One!”

As the fireworks exploded at the start of the year, Kokichi reached up to wrap his arms around Shuichi’s neck, pulling him down to kiss him on the lips.

They barely kissed for a second, but Kokichi pulled away quickly, seeing Shuichi’s face was bright red and shocked. Cute. He probably hated it. 

Kokichi turned away, feeling his own face heating up. “Well- I’m gonna go watch the fireworks now!”

He began to leave until he felt a hand grabbing his own, and he turned around to see a still flustered Shuichi. “Don’t,” He paused for a second breathing in, “don’t just run away. Please.” 

Kokichi looked at the other,making eye contact with the former detective as he pouted slightly, embarassed. “Okay.”

“So...” Shuichi broke their eye contact, looking down and taking his other hand. “You kissed me.”

“Well done Sherlock.” 

“H-hey!” Shuichi sighed, growing more flustered by the second while Kokichi was calming down. 

“Can I, uh, kiss you again?”

-

Miu swung a sparkler around in her hands as she walked home, a little way in front of the other three. Hearing footsteps she saw Kokichi coming up to her, and falling into step next to her.

“Hey virgin.”

“Hiya.”

Kokichi looked up as he walked, seeing some fireworks still being set off despite it being nearly two in the morning by that point. He looked like he was thinking about something.

“Are you happy, Miu?” He paused, giving time for the taller girl to answer, but she instead looked at him curiously.

“I’m not. Is that selfish? I’ve gotten so much yet I’m not happy.”

“How much did you have to fuckin’ drink?” She sighed, she hadn’t seen him with such a blank expression in a while. “I’m happy. I don’t see how I would be sad now. It’s so much less shitty than things used to be.”

She paused, looking at him for a moment. “But I don’t think it’s wrong, or selfish, that you’re not happy. I know this is coming from me but, you seem a lot better.”

“Do you think I’ll ever be happy?” His voice seemed small and pensive, much different than she had ever heard it.

She heard a loud laugh from behind, seeing the others laughing at some joke one of them had told.

“Yeah. I think you will be.”


End file.
